Dragons

Dragons are legendary creatures, typically with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures.The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are European dragons,derived from various European folk traditions and ultimately related toGreek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the unrelated Oriental dragons, such as the Chinese dragon (Traditional: 龍; Simplified: 龙; Pinyin: lóng). The English word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake", which probably comes from the verb δρακεῖν (drakeîn) "to see clearly".Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a hugelizard, or a snake with two pairs of lizard-type legs, and able to emitfire from their mouths. The European dragon has bat-type wings growing from its back. A dragon-like creature with no front legs is known as a wyvern. Following discovery of how pterosaurswalked on the ground, some dragons have been portrayed without frontlegs and using the wings as front legs pterosaur-fashion when on theground.Although dragons occur in many legends around the world, differentcultures have varying stories about monsters that have been groupedtogether under the dragon label. Some dragons are said to breathe fireor to be poisonous. They are commonly portrayed as serpentine orreptilian, hatching from eggsand possessing typically scaly or feathered bodies. They are sometimesportrayed as having especially large eyes or watching treasure verydiligently, a feature that is the origin of the word dragon (Greek drakeîn meaning "to see clearly").[2] Some myths portray them with a row of dorsal spines. European dragons are more often winged, while Oriental versions of the dragon resemble large snakes. Dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature.Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many Asian cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magicor other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain,and rivers. In some cultures, they are also said to be capable of human speech. In some traditions dragons are said to have taught humans to talk.The term dragoon, for infantry that moved around on horseback yet still fought as foot soldiers, is derived from their early firearm, the "dragon", a wide-bore musket that spat flame when it fired, and was thus named for the mythical creature.

Origin and etymology

Dragon on the Ishtar Gate, ca. 600 BC

The word dragon derives from Greek δρακων, via Latin draco. It is attested in Middle English from the 13th century, in the context of medieval bestiaries and legends.The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, notnecessarily mythological, and this usage was also current in English upto the 18th century. Today the great komodo lizard Varanus komodoensis is also known in English as the Komodo dragon. The King James Bible uses the words "serpent", "dragon" and "Devil" in a fairly interchangeable manner.The association of the serpent with a monstrous opponent overcome bya heroic deity has its roots in the mythology of the Ancient Near East,including Canaanite (Hebrew, Ugaritic), Hittite and Mesopotamian. The Chaoskampf motif entered Greek mythology and ultimately ChristianIndo-European mythology as well, based on comparative evidence of Indic and Germanic material. mythology, although the serpent motif may already be part of prehistoric The "European dragon" (and its Near Eastern and Indic cognates) myth has quite different characteristics and origins from those of the Chinese dragon.Dinosaur and mammalian fossils were occasionally mistaken for thebones of dragons and other mythological creature; for example, adiscovery in 300 BC in Wucheng, Sichuan, China, was labeled as such by Chang Qu.[3] Adrienne Mayor has written on the subject of fossils as the inspiration for myths in her book The First Fossil Hunters, and in an entry in the Encyclopedia of Geologyshe wrote: "Fossil remains generated a variety of geomyths speculatingon the creatures' identity and cause of their destruction. Many ancientcultures, from China and India to Greece, America, and Australia, toldtales of dragons, monsters, and giant heroes to account for fossils ofanimals they had never seen alive."[4] In Australia, stories of such creatures may have referred to the land crocodiles, Quinkana sp., a terrestrial crocodile which grew from 5 to possibly 7 metres in length, or the 4 tonne monitor lizard Varanus priscus (formerly Megalania prisca) a giant, carnivorous goanna that might have grown to as long as 7 metres, and weighed up to 1,940 kilograms, or rainbow serpents (possibly Wonambi naracoortensis) that were part of the extinct megafauna of that continent.[5].In the book An Instinct for Dragons[6] anthropologist David E. Jonessuggests a hypothesis that humans just like monkeys have inheritedinstinctive reactions to snakes, large cats and birds of prey. Dragonshave features that are combinations of these three. Our instinctivefear for these three would explain why dragons with similar featuresoccur in stories from independent cultures on all continents. Otherauthors have suggested that especially under the influence of drugs orin dreams, this instinct may give raise to fantasies about dragons,snakes, spiders, etc., which would explain why these symbols arepopular in drug culture. The traditional mainstream explanation to thefolklore dragons does however not rely on human instinct, but on theassumption that fossil remains of dinosaurs gave raise to similar speculations all over the world.By region

Greek mythology

Main article: Dragons in Greek mythology

In Ancient Greece the first mention of a "dragon" is derived from the Iliad where Agamemnon is described as having a blue dragon motif on his sword belt and a three-headed dragon emblem on his breast plate.[7] However, the Greek word used (δράκων drákōn, genitive δράκοντοϛ drákontos) could also mean "snake". δράκων drákōn is a form of the aorist participle active of Greek δέρκομαι dérkomai = "I see", derkeîn= "to see", and originally likely meant "that which sees", or "thatwhich flashes or gleams" (perhaps referring to reflective scales). Thisis the origin of the word "dragon". (See also Hesiod's Theogony, 322.)In 217 A.D., Philostratus discussed dragons (δράκων, drákōn) in India in The Life of Apollonius of Tyana (II,17 and III,6-. The Loeb Classical Librarytranslation (by F.C. Conybeare) mentions (III,7) that “In most respectsthe tusks resemble the largest swine’s, but they are slighter in buildand twisted, and have a point as unabraded as sharks’ teeth.”According to Aelian's On Animals, Ethiopia was inhabited by aspecies of dragon that hunted elephants. It could grow to a length of180 feet and had a lifespan rivaling that of the most enduring ofanimals.

European

Main articles: European dragon and Saint George and the Dragon

European dragons exist in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.Despite having wings, the dragon is generally depicted as having anunderground lair or cave, making it an ancient creature of the earthelement.Chinese

Main article: Chinese dragon

Chinese dragons (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng), and Orientaldragons generally, can take on human form and are usually seen asbenevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent thoughthere are exceptions (one exception being Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales). Malevolent dragons also occur in the mythology of Persia (see Azhi Dahaka) and Russia, among other places.Dragons are particularly popular in China and the five-clawed dragon was a symbol of the Chinese emperors, with the phoenix or fenghuang the symbol of the Chinese empress. Dragon costumes manipulated by several people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.Japanese

Main article: Japanese dragon

Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with importedstories about dragons from China, Korea and India. Like these otherAsian dragons, most Japanese ones are water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. Gould writes (1896:248),the Japanese dragon is "invariably figured as possessing three claws".Vedic

In the early Vedic religion, Vritra (Sanskrit: वृत्र (Devanāgarī) or Vṛtra (IAST)) "the enveloper", was an Asura and also a "naga" (serpent) or possibly dragon-like creature, the personification of drought and enemy of Indra. Vritra was also known in the Vedas as Ahi ("snake"), and he is said to have had three heads.Indian

The following detailed account comes from The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Flavius Philostratus:

“

The whole of India is girtwith dragons of enormous size; for not only the marshes are full ofthem, but the mountains as well, and there is not a single ridgewithout one. Now the marsh kind are sluggish in their habits and arethirty cubits long, and they have no crest standing up on their heads,but in this respect resemble the she-dragons. Their backs however arevery black, with fewer scales on them than the other kinds; and Homerhas described them with deeper insight than have most poets, for hesays that the dragon that lived hard by the spring in Aulis had a tawnyback; but other poets declare that the congener of this one in thegrove of Nemea also had a crest, a feature which we could not verify inregard to the marsh dragons.And the dragons along the foothills and the mountain crests maketheir way into the plains after their quarry, and prey upon all thecreatures in the marshes; for indeed they reach an extreme length, andmove faster than the swiftest rivers, so that nothing escapes them.These actually have a crest, of moderate extent and height when theyare young; but as they reach their full size, it grows with them andextends to a considerable height, at which time also they turn red andget serrated backs. This kind also have beards, and lift their necks onhigh, while their scales glitter like silver; and the pupils of theireves consist of a fiery stone, and they say that this has an uncannypower for many secret purposes. The plain specimen falls the prize ofthe hunters whenever it draws upon itself an elephant; for thedestruction of both creatures is the result, and those who capture thedragons are rewarded by getting the eyes and skin and teeth. In mostrespects they resemble the largest swine, but they are slighter inbuild and flexible, and they have teeth as sharp and indestructible asthose of the largest fishes. Now the dragons of the mountains havescales of a golden colour, and in length excel those of the plain, andthey have bushy beards, which also are of a golden hue; and theireyebrows are more prominent than those of the plain, and their eye issunk deep under the eyebrow, and emits a terrible and ruthless glance.And they give off a noise like the clashing of brass whenever they areburrowing under the earth, and from their crests, which are all fieryred, there flashes a fire brighter than a torch. They also can catchthe elephants, though they are themselves caught by the Indians in thefollowing manner. They embroider golden runes on a scarlet cloak, whichthey lay in front of the animal's burrow after charming them to sleepwith the runes; for this is the only way to overcome the eyes of thedragon, which are otherwise inflexible, and much mysterious lore issung by them to overcome him. These runes induce the dragon to stretchhis neck out of his burrow and fall asleep over them : then the Indiansfall upon him as he lies there, and despatch him with blows of theiraxes, and having cut off the head they despoil it of its gems. And theysay that in the heads of the mountain dragons there are stored awaystones of flowery colour, which flash out all kinds of hues, andpossess a mystical power if set in a ring, like that which they saybelonged to Gyges. But often the Indian, in spite of his axe and hiscunning, is caught by the dragon, who carries him off into his burrow,and almost shakes the mountains as he' disappears. These are also saidto inhabit the mountains in the neighbourhood of the Red Sea, and theysay that they heard them hissing terribly and that they saw them godown to the shore and swim far out into the sea.

”

Persian

Aži Dahāka is the source of the modern Persianword azhdahā or ezhdehā اژدها (Middle Persian azdahāg) meaning"dragon", often used of a dragon depicted upon a banner of war. ThePersians believed that the baby of a dragon will be the same color asthe mother's eyes. In Middle Persianhe is called Dahāg or Bēvar-Asp, the latter meaning "[he who has]10,000 horses." Several other dragons and dragon-like creatures, all ofthem malevolent, are mentioned in Zoroastrian scripture. (See Zahhāk).Jewish

In Jewish religious texts, the first mention of a dragon-like creature is in the Biblical works of Job (26:13), and Isaiah (27:1) where it is called Nachash Bare'ach, or a "Pole Serpent". This is identified in the Midrash Rabba to Genesis 1:21 as Leviathan from the word Taninim (תנינים) "and God created the great sea-monsters." In modern Hebrew the word Taninim is used for Crocodiles - however, this is a 20th Century usage unconnected with the original Biblical meaning.[citation needed]In Jewish astronomy this is also identified with the North Pole, the star Thuban which, around 4,500 years ago, was the star in the Draco constellation's "tail".However this can also have been either the celestial pole or the ecliptic pole.The ancient observers noted that Draco was at the top of the celestialpole, giving the appearance that stars were "hanging" from it, and inHebrew it is referred to as Teli, from talah (תלה) - to hang.Hebrew writers from Arabic-speaking locations identified the Teli as Al Jaz'har,which is a Persian word for a "knot" or a "node" because of theintersection of the inclination of the orbit of a planet from theelliptic that forms two such nodes. In modern astronomy these arecalled the ascending node and the descending node, but in medieval astronomy they were referred to as "dragon's head" and "dragon's tail".Rahab, as described in Psalms 89:9-10 and Isaiah 51:9-10, also has "dragon-like" characteristics.The Merthyr Synagogue features a dragon on the front gable.Modern depictions

Toy dragons, on sale in a California gift shop, 2005

In the early 20th Century sculpture of the Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland, inspired by Medieval art, dragons are a frequent theme - as symbol of sin but also as a nature force, fighting against man.There are numerous examples of dragons in modern literature, especially the fantasy genre.In the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, the major antagonist is a dragon named Smaug. Smaug hoards a great treasure but is ultimately shot down with an arrow by an archer who was told about a soft patch in Smaug's underbelly armor. Other dragons appearing in Tolkien's works include Glaurung, the "father of dragons" created by Morgoth, along with Ancalagon the Black and Scatha. Also, in Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham, a dragon named Chrysophylax Dives is encountered.Dragons also appear frequently in the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, and are described in the Harry Potter related book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by the same author.Dragonriders of Pern is an extensive science fiction series of novels and short stories created and primarily written by Anne McCaffrey.Since 2004, McCaffrey's son Todd McCaffrey has also published Pernnovels, both in collaboration with Anne and on his own. The Pernese useintelligent firebreathing creatures called "dragons" who have atelepathic bond with their riders, formed by mental impressions whichthe dragons receive when they hatch from their eggs.Some modern pseudo-biological accounts of dragons give them the generic name Draco, although the generic name Draco is used in real-world biology for a genus of small gliding agamid lizard.The Dragons of Probability

Stanislaw Lem, in his whimsical Cyberiad,explores the statistical notion of Dragons. His two fabledConstructors, Trurl and Klapaucius, while satisfied with theimpossibility of Dragons, are not satisfied to end the discussion atthis point. In line with the White Queen's assertion in Through the Looking Glassthat one can "Think of hundreds of impossible things before breakfast",an entire scientific community quickly establishes itself around thestudy of impossible Dragons. Statistically improbable, Dragons are themost likely impossible creature to exist, with a higher (though equallynear infinite) improbability assigned to Fairies, Gnomes, Pixies,Witches, and Elves, in that order. With the development of Draconology(the Statistical science of determining and describing DragonImplausibility in a quantifable manner), developments includeddetermining that Dragons exist within Configurational Space, the samestatistical environment in which electrons exist and move. Trurl develops the theory of the Dracotron, and uses it in a manner analogous to the Mossbauer effectto detect a Dragon's tail, which nearly costs him his life. Indiscovering that Dragons exist in configurational space, this explainshow in the (incredibly infinitesimally likely) cases where dragons areencountered, the beast when cornered will slip back into thisspace-time outside of reality. The Beast, being stupid and obstinate,does so instinctively. Trurl and Klapacius have a few adventuresinvolving their statistical science, which involve the quantummechanical uncertainties associated with Dragons.In a similar vein, Terry Pratchettalso imagines Dragons to be a statistical type of creature, which aremost prone to slip out of their imprisoning space (sandwiched in athree dimensional tesselation whose description is reminiscent of theworks of Escher) when they encounter the intersection with L-space, Pratchett's description of the special conditions found within libraries, and most particularly the magical library of the Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork.Creationists' assertions

Some creationists, including Kent Hovind and Bill Cooper, believe that dragons were a form of dinosaur and still exist albeit they are in hiding.[16]

Dragons are astral creatures and powerful symbols. They are not at this time actual physical beings, though there is some speculation as to the possibility that they existed once upon a time. Most folklorists believe that the stories of dragons are metaphores for the idea of an ancient mystical power being overcome by a more modern power, and the feminists ones argue that the ancient power in question is the "Goddess" (to which I always wonder, which Goddess?).

At any rate, most magic users view dragons as astral creatures, not as physical beings so to answer where they live is impossible because they live in a place that is nonphysical and therefore not really a place. They can be reached and communicated with on the astral plane through journey work. I am not sure the fire association is correct, as I have heard they are associated with Earth and also that they are associated with Air (this specifically the Eastern dragon) but that varies by tradition and I don't find rigid elemental correspondences helpful anyway. In my experience and those of people I have performed this sort of journey work with, dragons are mischevious, wise, easily bored and easily offended. They will tease you and challenge you to go outside your comfort zones, and, so it is reported to me, like to fiddle with electronics. They are sort of like that wise old sensei who delights in making you do all these annoying, seemingly meaningless tasks until you are ready to strangle him and then he calmly points out the meaning in them as if it were just so obvious.

In almost every culture, in almost every place, there are stories of dragons, most of them too old to know it's origin. Dragons, the gigantic, fast, strong and wise lizards as told in myths. Beasts so fierce that would destroy all near them. Some of them could fly, some with various heads, some could breath fire, all being Dragons.

In Greek, draca means serpent meaning also with the same terms of the idea of great visibility, one characteristic common in dragons was born between and within fire and darkness... no other creature had been so powerful and wise.. that's what is known to be a Dragon.

In the Babylonian myth the the first dragon was Yaldabaoth, although is also called Tiamat so Yaldabaoth grown up and made some more like her Nagamat, Kaliyat, Orkus, Tarasque and Serpens among others..., that was what Micael Green says, he translated from an old script. Tiamat was a Babylonian Dragon being personification of the sea mainly(salt water), and portrayed as the mother of all Dragons and daugther of Chaos; she appears in the creation myth, Enuma Elish:Tiamat lived in the primordial chaos that existed before the creation of the world. She mingled with Apsu ( a personification of fresh water), and the first generation of gods was born.One of these gods, Enki or Ea killed Apsu.Tiamat wanted to avenge Apsu by destroying the gods. She gathered an army of monsters and 11 Dragons.The older gods were so terrified when they saw Tiamat, and her army, that they accepted the offer of the young god Marduk. He offered to kill Tiamat on the condition that his supremacy was recognized. Marduck killed Tiamat in battle and used her body to make the universe. He used the blood of Kingu, leader of Tiamat's army and her second husband, to make mankind.

The Dragons population grew, they were so much and with so many differences among them that they were divided into various categories.This does not mean that some were better than others; It was a more efficient way to study them. In fact this division, was not the only one... Some divided Dragons into 5 categories based on their location and appearance (draconis teutonica, draconis galli, draconis albionensis, draconis bipedes, draconis cappadociae and draconis sinoensis), some based on the elements (draco flamma, draco glacies, draco terra among others), and some based on their colours.

In some cultures (such as Chinese) is also mentioned about celestial heaven Dragons. The oriental Dragons, most of them from the ancient China. There are nine major types of Chinese dragons, attributed to the nine Dragon sons that were worshiped and made into idols. Supposedly this nice, were the sons of the four Dragon kings, Ao Shun, Ao Ch'in, Au Jun and Ao Kuang. The nine type of horned Dragon, the winged Dragon, the celestial Dragon ( which generates wind and rain for the benefit of mankind), the dragon of hidden treasures (which keeps guard over concealed wealth), the coiling Dragon ( which lives in water ), and the yellow Dragon ( which once emerged from water and presented the legendary Emperor Fu Shi with the elements of writing). These Dragons, share the same way of living. They are never changed from one place, staying in their own territory.

Most of the Chinese Dragons have different lengths, some legends told about the great Chien-Tang, witch was a red Dragon, his back was fire and his eyes shined as the sun, this wonderful creature, from tail to head was more than 984 feet long. For the chinese people, Dragons were described visually as a composite of parts from nine animals: The horns of a deer; The head of a camel; The eyes of a devil; The neck of a snake; The abdomen of a large cockle; The scales of a carp; The claws of an eagle'The paws of a tiger; And the ears of an ox. The Chinese word for Dragon is spelled out in roman characters as either Lung or Long. In China, the Dragon was credited with having great powers that allowed them to make rain and to control floods (by striking the river with its tail, causing it to open and thus divert the floodwaters) also Dragons are credited for transportation of humans to the celestial realms after death. In China, Dragons are symbols of the natural world, adaptability, and transformation. When two dragons are placed together but turned away, they symbolize eternity via the famous Yin-Yang.

The Royal Court Of The Dragon was established in Egypt in 2170 B.C. under Ankhfnkhonsu, and more formally by Queen Sobeknefru in 1783 B.C. to provide an instituation for the pursuit of the work of the Dragon of Al-Khem otherwise known as Thoth or Hermes. From Al-Khem we have alchemy, the Great Work of the Dragon. The most famous books attributed to him are The Emerald Tablets and The Pymander. Part of the Emerald Tablets of Thoth talks about reptiles, specifically shape shifters. Reptilians were/are able to shape-shift between the forms of Humans and Dragons and so forth...Dragons, the oldest living creature, have been here through the human history. There had been many legends and manuscripts about these wonderful creatures.

One of the most famous literature about Dragons is Beowulf, the medieval story of a brave Knight and a Fire Dragon. This story of Beowulf and the Dragon was written in old English, Beowulf survives in only one manuscript copied around 1000 A.D. This manuscrip is now at the British Library, London.

From the Christians we also got about Saint George and the Dragon.There was a town near the are of Cappadocia, where a Dragon lived. The town people often made sacrifices of their sheep to calm the Dragon; until the sheep ran out and by a lottery the princess of the town was chosen to be the next sacrifice for the Dragon. George took pity on the princess fate and slayed the Dragon. Also there are myths that the dragon which Saint George prevailed over was none other than Dadianus. The ancient texts which related the story of Saint George's miracles, tortue and deaths frequently call Dadianus a serpent or Dragon. Some ancient writers then either over looked the fact that Dadianus was a man, or decided that his treatment of St. George was so infamous that only a picture of the traditional dragon would represent him accurately. As far as the damsel is concerned, it is believed that she represents Queen or Princess Alexandra. She was Dadianus's wife and was also a agan until being converted to Christianity by George.

According to Christian legend, when Jehove created life, he also created the great Dragon Leviathan. On Doomsday, God will destroy Leviathan meaning the end of the Earth. Leviathan seems to refer to the Draco Consetellation. There is a suggestion, that the earliest origin of the signs of the zodiac was God's instruction on the gospel in the heavens. If this is correct, then the Dragon leviathan is again the symbol of man's pride and rebelliousness against God. The name leviathan occurs 6 times in the Old Testament.(Psalms 74: 13-14)

The Concept of Dragons in Celtic mythology comes directly from the Holy Crocodile, Messeh, from the ancient Egyptians. The Pharaohs were anointed with crocodile fat, and attained the strength of Meseh. The image of Meseh evolved to become a Dragon, which became the emblem of Kingship.( The world Messeh comes from 'Messiah' that means to anoint ). Also Messeh, the holy crocodile, evolved into what we know as Sobek in Egypt (crocodile god, son of Neith) and Suchos in Greek.

In the Mexican culture (just to name one) we find Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Snake. One of the major deities of Aztecs and Toltecs (among other middle-American civilizations). The winged Serpent, or a Dragon that only had wings and his body covered with feathers. Quetzalcoatl is the creator sky-god and organized the original cosmos and participated in the creation and destruction on various world periods.

Also for the Aztecs, a symbol of death and resurrection and patron of preists. For one theory of the fire breath of the DragonThe breath of a Dragon is not a magikal think that spread out of nowhere, but had a scientific explanation. When humans eat, their body by digesting create a gas known as Methane, Dragons unlike humans store this gas into another kind of lung that will serve as a bag ( to say it that way ) to hold the gas that will be late mixed with a small amount of Phosphor that has propriety to ignite in fire at the contact of air, O2. When the Dragon wants to breath fire, the methane is released into the lung and when the gas is in the air, the phosphor ignites and also puts the methane in fire.

There are so many different types of dragons. There are: Guardian dragons, Faery dragons, Elemental dragons (fire, water, earth, and air), Dragons of chaos, Dragons of destruction, Dragons of the winds, Dragons of the mountains, Dragons of the seas, Dragons of the valleys, Dragons of the forests, Oriental Dragons

Guardian Dragons

These are cute little dragons about the size of a fat cat or of a small dog. These are playful dragons and are fascinated with music and happy times. Guardian dragons are not attached to watching your home per se, they are more attached to you. They fend off unwanted visitors and add their magick to your rituals. They are not the smallest of dragons, but they are generally the youngest.

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Faery dragons

Are the smallest of dragons that I know of. Just like faeries, they can only be found when they want to be. These are the tricksters of dragons. They take great joy in altering images to fool you. I suppose you could say that they are illusionists. These dragons are drawn to flowers, especially roses, where they like to sit.

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Elemental dragons

Are just that. There are fire dragons, water dragons, earth dragons, and air dragons. These dragons can be quite unpredictable at times. They are very powerful and deserve great respect.

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Dragons of chaos and dragons of destruction

They are the most unpredictable of the dragons. These dragons are in no way "evil". The come from the land of negative power. All magicks performed with them must be very carefully thought out. You see they are not bound by our limited sight. If you are having a problem that you need solved, they will find the source of the problem and fix it. The results that they achieve are usually not the ones that you first intended. These dragons are not for the novice!

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Draconic code of honor

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The Draconic Tradition has Codes of Honor that is followed by all true Dragon Mages. It is followed in magickal workings and in everyday life. There are sometimes when we can't follow the Codes to the exact word, but to completely ignore them would be foolish. Dragons will not work with a practitioner that ignores them. But one, who follows them to the best of their ability, earns the respect of Dragons and will have no problem working with them.

1. In all that you do consider its benefit or harm to yourself, your family, and your Clan.

2. Your duty is always to yourself, your family, and your Clan.

3. Be honest with yourself and others and let them know you will not accept anything but honesty in return. You should always be above reproach or criticism in the eyes of the world.

4. You should always strive to be kind to others, or, should kindness prove impossible, strive always to be just.

5. Give your bond only after great consideration as to how it may affect your duties to yourself, your family, and your Clan. And when you do give your bond it should carry the weight of a signed blood oath.

6. Pledge friendship and your assistance only to those who are worthy and honorable. Work to strengthen those of your family, friends, and your Clan, and they will strengthen you.

7. Do not pass on anything you have not personally witnessed or verified. Never give unproven hearsay the weight of truth.

8. What you have hold. Let no one take from you, your family, or your Clan that which is rightfully and legally yours.

9. The laws of the land should be obeyed whenever possible and within reason for the protection of yourself, your family, and your Clan, for in the main they have been chosen with wisdom.

10. Never reveal the secrets entrusted to you by your family, your Clan, or your friends without permission. Possession of a wagging tongue marks you as a fool. Exceptions to this are when keeping the secret would endanger an innocent, bring unjustified dishonor to another, bring shame or dishonor to your family, your Clan, or friends, allow a criminal to go unpunished, or seriously violate the laws of the land. In this matter let common sense prevail.

11. Never neglect your family, your Clan, or your friends. Have the fierceness of a Dragon in their defense and always be certain they are provided for before starting any endeavor.

12. Offer forgiveness only to those who are truly repentant of wrongs committed against you, your family, your Clan or your friends. And when you offer forgiveness, do so with honesty, for to do so grudgingly is not forgiveness but deceit.

13. Always remember that the fury and excitement of the moment can play havoc with the truth. To keep one's head in any situation is a virtue.

14. Have respect and honor for all Dragons and the Dragons of the Land. For they will assist you in your endeavors if you do.

15. Dignity, a gracious manner and a good humor are to be admired and cultivated. They will aid you to bring honor to your family, and your Clan.

16. Try always to be prepared for whatever the future may bring. Life with all of its joys, sorrows, and secrets is to be embraced and experienced to the fullest, for this is how one gains wisdom.

17. Respect yourself as a child of the Dragons. Have pride, but not arrogance, in yourself, your appearance, and your position in the Clan. Do your best in all things. Be gracious with self-praise, without bragging, and self-forgiveness when warranted.

18. When you gain authority, use it carefully and with wisdom. Remember that authority will grow with experience, and as a Priest/Priestess of a Clan you should exercise it with care and dignity.

19. Power does not come with authority, but can be given. Be wary of how you use any power given to you, for power over something does not always give you the authority to control it.

20. When your time in this life is done, return to the Dragons, and stand before them with pride, not arrogance. For a life lived with dignity, respect, and honor is one to be prideful of.

Appearances

Dragons have different shapes and sizes when it comes to their bodies. They can be very small to enormous, typical type of body or an unusual type of body. There are some characteristics that are common to all Dragons as in all have scales and a tail, those too might differ slightly but are common. We all know of the common western dragon with 4 legs, tail, scales and sometimes horns, spikes and barbs. Not all western dragons have wings, but most do. They come in different colours depending on their species, habitat and clan. E.g. It's uncommon you'll find Blue dragons in a desert.

There are also dragons that have hair, and feathers. When a dragon with these features is spotted you'll notice many other differences. You'll even ask yourself if this is a dragon or not… It's very uncommon for dragons to have feathers instead of scales but there's a possibility the reason for this could be magickal. Dragon's aren't born with feathers or hair; it's later developed or usually the result of a magickal act. The hair on dragons has spread wide though as they bread more and more dragons are developing strange features. It's still rare to see these types of dragon but it's becoming more common.

The Oriental Dragons are known to have hair, and this is a sign of wisdom. Though, I can't see the possibility of a Oriental dragon mating with a Western, if it happened at all that would be another possibility to consider as how dragons started to grow hair. It's even uncommon for clans and species alone to mix, although it has happened dragons usually like to stick to their own kind. E.g.… A fire dragon would not mate with a water dragon.

Some people see rainbow-coloured dragons. Dragons that aren't only one colour. This too can be a sign of inbreeding. If a fire dragon mated with a mountain dragon you could end up with a pink dragon. I'm not saying it's certain, I'm just saying it could happen. Red + White = Pink. This could be why some dragons aren't all one colour.

Here are the basic body shapes and sizes, and the name of each one.

Wyvern

ranges from 10 to 30 feet from ground to shoulders in height, the body is proportionate to it's height, has only two hind legs, wings as their second set of limbs, long neck the length of the body ending at a narrow shaped head with long snout that comes to a point, typically they are a lot like birds in that they use their set of legs to hold down prey and rip it apart with its mouth.

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Amphiptere

having a body like that of a snake being from 15 to 45 feet long, they have no visible legs but instead have small wings where legs would be if they had them, the end of the tails are more oval shaped and have skin that comes off of it for directional control, these are an more aquatic dragon so they use the wings as flipper to move through the water, their main source of food are fish and other sea animals.

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Guivre

having both front and hind legs, wings that are spiked along the outer edge, short necks that end in a boxed shaped head with short snout, ranging from 5 to 10 feet in height and 12 to 48 feet long, they borrow in the ground and use their claws to dig and the spikes on their wings to move through the ground, main source of food is any underground creature or easily caught land animal.

Wyvre

being similar to both a Wyvern and a Guivre they have hind legs and wings, what they differ in is that their wings are attached to front legs that are like arms with hand-like claws on the tips, this being similar to that of a bat, having a long neck ending in a rectangle shaped head, their bodies being enormous in size, ranging from 20 to 60 feet at the shoulders, the end of its tail has porcupine type quills, they spend most of their time in deep caverns away from everything else and survive by eating cave dwelling creatures.

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Hydra

having a body similar to a Guivre, their differences are that they have large wings, and anywhere from 2 to 5 long necks and heads, the size of them is from 20 to 60 feet.

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Watcher

this is the smallest of them all, they range from 6 to 12 inches in height, they have bodies proportionate to their height, they have both front and hind legs and wings that attach at the shoulders.

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(sorry its alot lol, i'm sorta an expert on dragons and work with them and study them so if anyone has any questions on them just ask me)

GuestGuest

Subject: Re: Dragons Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:28 pm

o great toby now you got takari going you should have never steped into dragons thats her territory lol

lol yep yep yep oh and Bray this would also be good for your little sister as well, the best way to learn about dragons is through there history (besides working with them of course) and tell her if she has any questions about them just pm the question to me and I'll answer.